Top 10 tallest towers in the region
2 October 2023
> This package also includes: Saudi’s Jeddah Tower reaches for new heights
1. Burj Khalifa, UAE
The construction of the world’s tallest skyscraper, Burj Khalifa, began in 2006 and reached its pinnacle in 2009.
The 829.8-metre-tall tower was developed by Dubai’s Emaar Properties and designed by US-based Skidmore Owings & Merrill and Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture.
Construction was led by a consortium of South Korea’s Samsung C&T, the local/Belgian Bel Hasa Six Construct and the local Arabtec Construction. The $875m main construction contract was awarded in December 2004.
The 163-storey tower took 22 million man-hours to build. Overall, the project cost about $1.5bn to complete.
2. Mecca Royal Clock Tower, Saudi Arabia
The 601-metre-tall Mecca Royal Clock Tower is the landmark feature of the Abraj al-Bayt complex.
The development comprises seven towers overlooking the holy site of Kaaba, with a total built-up area of more than 1.4 million square metres and 15,000 apartments.
Saudi Binladin Group was the main contractor for the project.
The $800m contract for the clock tower was awarded in 2003 and the complex completed in 2012.
3. Marina 101, UAE
Marina 101 is the second-tallest building in Dubai.
Construction began in 2007 when Turkish contractor TAV was awarded the estimated AED800m ($218m) main contract.
The project involved building a 101-floor tower with a height of 425 metres and a total built-up area of 144,000 sq m.
The project has witnessed several setbacks over the years and remains unoccupied. The construction works were partially completed in 2017.
4. Princess Tower, UAE
Princess Tower is the second-tallest residential building in the world.
The 107-storey tower stands 413 metres tall and is located in Dubai Marina.
The project was announced in 2005 and the foundation works were completed in 2007.
The main contractor for the project was the Lebanese Arabian Construction Company.
The Princess Tower was the world’s tallest residential building from 2012 to 2015, when it was overtaken by 432 Park Avenue in New York City.
5. Al-Hamra Tower, Kuwait
The 80-floor Al-Hamra Tower is the tallest building in Kuwait and the 36th tallest in the world, at 412 metres. It was built by the local Ahmadiah Contracting & Trading Company. Construction works started in 2005 and were completed in 2011. The project was designed by US-based architectural firms Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Callison and the local Al-Jazirah Engineers & Consultants.
6. 23 Marina, UAE
The 392-metre-tall 23 Marina is the fourth-tallest building in the UAE and the 40th tallest in the world. Dubai Civil Engineering constructed the 88-floor tower. The construction works started in 2005 and the project was completed in 2012. US-based KEO International and Indian Architect Hafeez Contractor designed the tower.
Jeddah Tower restart is watershed moment
7. PIF Tower, Saudi Arabia
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) Tower is located within Riyadh’s King Abdullah Financial District. US-based HOK Architects, Canadian WSP, Hyder Consulting and the local Omrania Associates designed the 385-metre-tall, 80-storey tower. The construction works began in 2009 and were finally completed in 2022. Saudi Binladin Group was the main project contractor.
8. Iconic Tower, Egypt
The 385-metre-tall Iconic Tower is the centrepiece among the 20 buildings of the Central Business District in Egypt’s New Administrative Capital. The construction of this 80-storey tower started in 2019 when China State Construction Engineering Corporation was appointed as the main contractor. The construction works on Africa’s tallest skyscraper were completed in 2022. Lebanese engineering company Dar al-Handasah was the project consultant.
9. Burj Mohammed bin Rashid, UAE
Completed in 2014, Abu Dhabi’s tallest building measures 381 metres and consists of 88 floors. The tower, part of the Abu Dhabi World Trade Centre, was announced in 2004. The construction works started in 2007 under the government’s redevelopment plan. The consultants involved in the development included Arup, Mott MacDonald, Foster & Partners, AtkinsRealis and Callison. Lebanese contractor Arabian Construction Company undertook the construction works.
10. Elite Residence, UAE
Dubai Marina’s Elite Residence, a 91-storey residential building, is the sixth-tallest building in the UAE. The 380-metre-tall tower was announced in 2006 and designed by Lebanese Khatib & Alami. The construction works began in 2007 when Arabian Construction Company was awarded the main construction contract. The tower has been operational since 2012.
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SOON TO JOIN GCC countries’ quest to build tall towers is not over yet. Several upcoming developments are likely to overthrow some of the tall towers on our list. These schemes include:
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Tallest towers in the world
Jeddah Tower image (top): Jeddah Economic Company
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21 October 2024
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The consortium, which includes South Korea's Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) and China's GD Power Development, submitted a levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) of hals 4.847 ($c 1.29) a kilowatt-hour for the contract to develop the scheme, which is located in Eastern Province.
The second lowest bidder is a team that includes China's SPIC Huanghe Hydropower Development and France's EDF Renewables, which offered to develop the project for $C1.31/kWh.
Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) received six proposals from companies for the contracts to develop and operate four solar photovoltaic (PV) IPP projects in Saudi Arabia in August.
The projects, which have a total combined capacity of 3,700MW, are being tendered under the fifth procurement round of the kingdom's National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP).
According to SPPC the lowest and second-lowest bidders in the remaining schemes under NREP round five are:
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Saudi utility developer Acwa Power was not among the 23 companies that were prequalified to bid for the fifth round of NREP projects.
US/India-based Synergy Consulting is providing financial advisory services to SPPC for the NREP fifth-round tender. Germany's Fichtner Consulting is providing technical consultancy services.
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Four wind IPPs, one of which has yet to be awarded, account for the remaining capacity.
SPPC is procuring 30% of the kingdom's target renewable energy by 2030. Saudi sovereign wealth vehicle the Public Investment Fund is procuring the rest through the Price Discovery Scheme. The PIF has appointed Acwa Power, which it partly owns, as principal partner for these projects.
The Saudi Energy Ministry recently said that the kingdom plans to procure 20,000MW of renewable energy capacity annually, starting this year and until 2030.
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Ashghal tenders sewerage works
21 October 2024
Qatar’s Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has issued a tender for the construction of the remaining works for two packages of the Al-Kheesa foul sewer network.
According to Ashghal's website, the project packages are called C2018/7 and C2017/118.
It issued the tender on 9 October and expects to receive bids by 10 November. Asghal set the bid bond for the contract at QR1.7m ($467,000).
MEED understands the project is located in the Al-Wajba area and is expected to be awarded in March 2025.
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Saudi Arabia to award 10.9GW of generation capacity
21 October 2024
Principal buyer Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) is expected to award the contracts to develop four gas-fired power plants and four solar photovoltaic (PV) projects over the next few weeks.
MEED understands the intention is to announce the preferred and reserved bidders for each of the contracts, possibly by late October or early November.
SPPC received six proposals from companies for the contracts to develop and operate four solar PV independent power producer (IPP) projects, which have a total combined capacity of 3,700MW, in August.
The project contracts were tendered under the fifth procurement round of the kingdom's National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP).
According to industry sources, the companies that submitted bids for the four PV contracts include:
- EDF Renewables (France) / Etihad Water & Electricity (UAE) / SPIC Huanghe Hydropower Development (China)
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The following solar PV projects and their capacities make up round five of the NREP:
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Khazna expects to build more 100MW-scale data centres
21 October 2024
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The 100MW artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced data centre being built in the UAE's northern emirate of Ajman is not the last for UAE-based data centre and cloud services provider Khazna Data Centres.
"In the near future, we will be announcing other projects on the same scale or larger than the Ajman data centre," Gregory Jasmin, the firm's senior director of business development strategy, tells MEED.
The executive says the 100MW data centre, once completed, makes Khazna Data Centres "by far the largest data centre developer and operator in the entire Gulf region".
MEED previously reported that London-headquartered construction firm Laing O'Rourke had started construction on Khazna's latest data centre project in Ajman.
The new facility is expected to cost about AED1bn ($272m) and be completed within 15 months. Etihad Water & Electricity Company will supply power to the Ajman data centre.
Jasmin says the company exceeded its capacity target of 300MW by the end of 2023, up from 126MW in early 2022.
The firm has grown significantly since 2020, when it had a capacity of just 40MW, following the 2021 merger of the data centre divisions of Khazna’s parent firm G42 and telecommunications firm e&, previously known as Etisalat.
The company is also expanding its presence in other markets, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Kenya.
"By the end of this year and the start of Q1 next year, we will be in many [more] geographies," says Jasmin.
Asked about the top driver for the company's future expansion, the executive says: "AI, AI and more AI."
He adds: "This is based on what the [UAE] leadership wants, which is to have the UAE at the forefront of the AI revolution and with G42, we sit at the core of the infrastructure that is needed for AI.
"For many years, we were always looking to the West to see what we can do, but now we want to take the lead in building the infrastructure that is powering AI here in the UAE as well as globally," says Jasmin.
As things stand, the government's AI push has increased interest in building data centre capacity, if not changed the landscape entirely for Khazna.
In June 2022, the firm's CEO Hassan Al-Naqbi told MEED that increased digitalisation by government entities and enterprises, as well as the adoption of school- and work-from-home practices, mean that the Middle East region will continue to drive double-digit growth in demand for data centre services.
In addition, the general mandate for regional governments to retain data within their national jurisdictions is also a major driver for the growth of data centre services in the region, which was nearly double the global average at the time.
Green data centre
Known for being a major energy consumer, there is a growing awareness of how data centres can be made more sustainable or greener, particularly due to the cooling requirements, which are especially crucial in the Gulf region.
Jasmin says in some countries, such as Kenya, a 100% renewable energy powered data centre is now feasible.
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Dubai Municipality seeks Tasreef partner
18 October 2024
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Dubai Municipality has issued a tender notice for a delivery partner to develop and implement a model tailored to the needs of the Tasreef programme, Dubai's planned AED30bn ($8.16bn) rainwater drainage network project.
MEED understands that the request for proposals targets technical and engineering advisory companies.
Dubai Municipality expects to receive bids by 7 November, Fahad Al-Awadhi, director of drainage system and recycled water projects department, Dubai Municipality, said in a recent social media post.
According to Al-Awadhi, the Tasreef programme consists of three streamlines to enhance the effectiveness of Dubai's stormwater system:
- Improvement of infiltration and sustainable drainage systems and artificial intelligence (AI) applications
- Upgrade of stormwater systems in Deira, Bur Dubai and Jebel Ali
- Proposed stormwater tunnels in Deira and Bur Dubai, as well as link tunnels in Jebel Ali
In addition, the Tasreef programme will address storm event management, including raising awareness about storm impacts, implementing proactive risk control measures, developing marketing and procurement strategies and establishing communication plans.
Al-Awadhi added: "The proposed stormwater tunnels, links and terminal pump stations aim to enhance the stormwater network’s capacity by 700% to handle up to 65 millimetres of rainfall per day. This programme represents the largest rainwater collection project in a single system within the region."
An early study is under way for Tasreef, which Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, approved in June.
A source familiar with the project said that Dubai Municipality is inclined to consider a public-private partnership (PPP) procurement model for the project.
Sheikh Mohammed's approval of Tasreef came two months after a storm in April inundated Dubai, causing widespread flooding and damage to infrastructure and property in certain areas.
The project will raise the emirate-wide drainage network’s capacity to more than 20 million cubic metres of water a day. It is hoped that it will meet Dubai's needs for the next 100 years.
The project is a continuation of drainage projects launched by Dubai in 2019, covering the Expo Dubai area, Al-Maktoum International Airport City and Jebel Ali.
The rainwater drainage capacity through tunnels will reach 20 million cubic metres a day, with a flow capacity of 230 cubic metres a second.
According to data from regional projects tracker MEED Projects, the Dubai Municipality Deep Tunnel Storm Water System (DTSWS) was first announced in 2014.
It has several components, and the first two packages covering Jebel Ali were awarded in 2017 and 2018 and completed in 2022.
The remaining packages of the master plan were on hold before the government's announcement on 24 June.
The DTSWS project is separate from the Dubai Strategic Sewage Tunnels project, which is being developed under a PPP contracting model.
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